Anara d'Garamont
Lady Anara of Garamont was a powerful Grail Damsel and sister of the famed Grail Knight, Calard and the Blood Knight, Bertelis. She played a vital role during many of Bretonnia's darkest hours. History Anara was born into the noble family of Garamont, alongside her twin brother, Calard. Upon her birth, the Garamont family could never have known that Anara was blessed. The talent had first manifested in Anara as a child, she had been unable to control it, and had been terrified by the endless barrage of thoughts that had intruded into her mind. She had learnt things that a child should never know, having inadvertently eavesdropped on the darkest thoughts of everyone she had come into contact with. It had been maddening... Around that time, she had first begun to see glimpses of events that had not yet come to pass. They had scared and confused her. In one instance she had begged to one of her father's knights before a tournament, pleading that if he rode his horse the next day, he would die. The knight had laughed at her fear, as had the gathered host of courtiers, but Anara would not be consoled. The knight had promised the young girl that he would be safe. It was not, however, a promise that he could keep. The powerful grey had been spooked by a sudden movement in the crowd, and had reared. The knight had fallen backwards and struck his head against a rock. He had died instantly. Anara's father had turned fearful eyes towards her when he learnt of the incident. Freak. The thought had stung her, and she had begun to cry. Calard had hugged her tight. She endured his embrace, for she knew that it gave him comfort. Her father had been relieved when the Fay Enchantress had come for her. She had felt the fear emanating from her father and his knights as the Enchantress strode into his hall unannounced and unchallenged, and she had secretly revelled in seeing the men cowed so. That first meeting was forever ingrained in her mind's eye. Ethereally tall and as slender as a branch of willow, yet radiating such power that the breath was stolen from Anara's lungs, the Enchantress was at once the most beautiful and the most terrifying creature she had ever seen. She was the highest authority in all of Bretonnia, greater even than the King, for she spoke with the voice of the goddess. Their eyes had met across the hall and in that instant the Enchantress had known her: everything that she was and everything that she could be. Anara's fear had dissipated like a fog in the rising sun. It was replaced by joy and yearning, for in those moments she realised that she was no freak and no witch, and that her powers were not a curse; far from it, they were gifts from the Lady. It seemed as though she stared into the Enchantress's almond-shaped eyes for an eternity, sharing a silent communication, before the silence had been broken. The Enchantress announced that she was taking Anara, turning her ageless gaze towards the Lord of Garamont, she announced that she was no longer his daughter. She was a child of the Lady, and it may be that he would never see her again. Her father nodded his head, unable to form words, as if stricken mute. Then the Enchantress had extended one graceful hand to Anara, and she had heard her voice, though her lips did not move. She bade Anara to come with her, to become what she was destined to be, that she was not alone anymore... Grail Damsel In the years that followed, Anara was tutored in the magical arts by the Fay Enchantress, and grew into a powerful Grail Damsel. She was no longer the carefree child that Calard would remember. She was clearly touched by the fey, and everything about her resonated with otherworldliness. She spoke in a soft, distant voice, and her eyes often grew unfocused. Her movements were calm and full of grace, as if time slowed in her presence. She seemed to radiate an elemental strength. She was like the sea becalmed, serene, beautiful and peaceful, but beneath the surface, deep within, there lay a similar power to that of the sea: destructive, dangerous, and somehow ageless. While performing her duties to the Lady, Anara encountered the revered Grail Knight, Reolus. The pair fell in love, with the living saint becoming Anara's champion and protector. Sources * : Knights of Bretonnia (Omnibus), by Anthony Reynolds Category:Bastonne Category:Grail Damsels Category:A Category:G